Steinbrenner's appearance overlooked

The All-Star pregame ceremony, in which 49 living Hall of Famers were introduced at Yankee Stadium, was the best I've ever seen, and that includes the unveiling of the All-Century team in Atlanta in 2000 (I wasn't present for the Ted Williams tribute at Fenway Park in 1999).

But admittedly, I'm biased — as a child of the '60s, many of those trotting onto the field were what I consider "my guys", the players I grew up worshipping, with one notable exception. Sandy Koufax, my all-time baseball hero, was conspicuously absent (but hopefully I'll get to gawk at Koufax next week in Cooperstown when Dave Niehaus receives the Ford Frick Award during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony).

Another moving moment, perhaps overlooked in the presence of so much star power, occurred when Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was driven onto the field on a golf cart to present the first-pitch balls to Yankee legends Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson and Goose Gossage — the latter a Hall of Fame inductee next week.

Steinbrenner, who turned 78 on July 4, has been largely incapacitated lately. There has been pervasive rumors of a stroke, but no one is exactly sure what his medical issues are.

All that is known for sure is that the combative, feisty Boss that ruled New York sports for three decades has receded into near-isolation. He has bequeathed operation of the Yankees to sons Hank and Hal.

That made Tuesday's rare public appearance by Steinbrenner all the more poignant, because no one knows when, or if, the next one might come. Steinbrenner was obviously frail, but it was equally clear, even behind dark sunglasses, that this was a deeply emotional moment for him. Those on the field said he was in tears.

No matter what one thinks of Steinbrenner — and he has given plenty of ammunition for his foes over 35 years of boorish ownership — it can't be denied that under his watch the Yankees were restored into a modern-day dynasty. No owner, perhaps ever, has provided his team with as many resources for success, nor such an unrelenting demand for it to happen.

That has led to outrageous melodramas over the years (see Martin, Billy; Jackson, Reggie; Winfield, Dave; and Martin, redux) but it also added a layer of undeniable emotional power to Tuesday's ceremony.

Change needed for All-Star Game

Sunday pitchers

It's hard to place too much blame for the near fiasco that took place Tuesday at the All-Star Game.

In a 15-inning game under the traditional method of employing pitchers for one- or two-inning stints, you're going to run out of pitchers, plain and simple.

It's not going to be an issue very often. But just to ensure that no All-Star Game is finished with position players on the mound — which is where this one was headed if Cory Hart's throw from right field was just a little more on-line in the 15th — I would endorse a rule change being tossed around.

Specifically, it would call for pitchers who work on Sunday to be replaced by ones with fresher arms. Considering that a handful of pitchers with All-Star stats are overlooked every year, it wouldn't be hard to do. The only objection might come from owners who don't want to shell out more All-Star bonuses, but it's a small price to pay to avoid the embarrassment looming on Tuesday.

Notes and quotes

• It was quite an All-Star Game for Justin Morneau of the Twins, who won the Home Run Derby on Monday and scored the winning run on Tuesday.

Just to keep him humble, however, the sponsor of the Home Run Derby called him "Jason" during the trophy presentation.

• The anti-Morneau was Florida's Dan Uggla, who had a nightmare of a game. Uggla struck out three times, hit into a double play, and committed three errors.

To make an excuse that Uggla didn't, he is still bothered by a sprained right ankle that caused him to miss 11 games in recent weeks.

The injury clearly affects Uggla's timing at the plate and on the field. And if Uggla was healthy, he might have beat out the relay throw to first on his double-play grounder off Mariano Rivera in the 10th inning.

Uggla was out by half a step; had he been safe, the go-ahead run would have scored on the play, and he would not have been viewed nearly as harshly.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com.